Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1887-07-17
THE BOWSERS.
MR. B0WSER TRIES HIS HAND AT CHEAP
FAMILY BUYING.
BE Lays in an lns1hausibls Supply and Makes
Great Sayings-Hsrsafsr Mrs. BOwssr
Must Not Shirk the Responsibilities
Of a HOusskseper.
Detroit Free Press.

centre table he said:
Mrs. Bowser, do you see these?"
II do"
'Do you know what they are?"
why, they are the monthly accounts
from the grocer's."
"Oh, they are! Well, l should say so!
DO you know what this family has de-
voured, wasted and given to the Polacks
in the last month";"
II know that we have been very eco
nomical."
do you! The grand footing is $64,
Mrs. Bower-oyer SIS per week for a fami-
ly of four, and one of them a baby and the
other a hired girl with the dyspepsia! l
I'm no miser, but l pronounce this an out
rage!"
But / haven't ordered anything extra,
and I've tried to be very careful to buy
close"
"Mrs. Bowser, it's your poor buying and
poor management. You don't know any
more about running a house than l do of
bossing a steamboat. Either that or else
grocers are swindling me, and | won't
stand it. Hereafter l shall do all the buy
ing"
/ gave the cook orders to tell him what
she wanted, and next morning Mr.. Bowser
entered upon his duties. The first pur-
chase be made was a bushel of potatoes
from a peddler in front of the house. He
gave 81. 10, and told the man where to
carry them. When he came home to din
ner the cook had to tell him:
81 put that bushel of potatoes into three
peeks, and then cut up the whole lot to get
good ones enough for dinner"
The first thing TO come up from the gro
Gerry was a consignment of 10 cans of pump
kin. This was followed by 80 pounds of
evaporated apples and 100 dozen clothes
pins. As nothing further appeared the
cook boiled some potatoes, made a pump
kin pie and stewed some Of the apples.
When we went out to dinner Mr.. Bowser
looked around in establishment.
What does this mean 2" he finally de-
manded.
why, it's all you sent"
He couldn't gainsay that, and by and by
he explained hat he had saved fully a dol
lar and a half on his purchases by buying
in such quantities.
lyon paid 10 cents a can for pumpkin,
while | got the lot for seven, he went on.
Thirty cents isn't so very much, but it is
as good to me as to the grocer"
"Yes, hut | bought about one can a
,,o,th Va, have a,n,,nh hara 20 Loot M
three years"
well, | saved 40 cents on the apples"
he protested.
1--WE have used just two pounds in the
last six months, Mr.. Bowser. At that
rate You have laid in a supply for two
years"
There was a look of terror in his eyes,
and she dared not proceed to clothes-pins
nor say u word about the potatoes.
| went down with him mex morning,
and as we halted in front Of a grocery he
called out:
Say, Green, n roast for dinner-twO
quarts Strawberries and -yum-say, a
head of cabbage"
When we had driven away he said 10
me-:
1--WE were Just IL seconds i'll front of
that grocery. You'd come down there and
fool away half an hour to give the same
order. You've got to be right up and
down business with these fellows"
When we came to sit down to dinner
we had roast pork and strawberries and
boiled cabbage.
81 want to know what this means?"
exclaimed Mr.. Bowser, as he showed back.
This is what You ordered, dear, and 1t
didn't take but IL seconds. You didn't
specify the sort of roast you wanted, and
you didn't tell the cook whether you
wanted the cabbage boiled, fried or baked.
You are running the kitchen now, You
know?'
He swallowed a few mouthfuls, tried
hard to change the subject, and after din
ner he vent into the kitchen and said to
the gill:
Hannah, | want sweet cake, tarts, hot
biscuit, raspberries and Clipped beef for
supper"
VERY well, sir"
"Tll send up everything as go down"
"Yes, sir"
About mid afternoon a g%rocer's wagon
delivered a pound of cloves, a pound OF
cinnamon and a beefsteak. When Mr..
Browser came home to supper the cook
called him into the kitchen and said:
did you bring the bakers bread, sir?'
why, no. ! told you we'd have hot
biscuit"
"But rve no flour"
Then why didn't you say So"
1.-THE missus always asks me and you
didn't say a word. The lard is also out"
But the beef"
~ can't chip a raw beefsteak, SIR
They probably misunderstood your
order"
And the tarts ?"
81 had nothing to make 'em OF, and In
this country we don't make sweet cake oil
cloves and cinnamon. Where's them
~raspberries9"
IL forgot 'em!'
Mr.. Bowser had the beefsteak, and !
worked away on the ~evaporated apples and
a remnant ofthe pumpkin pie. When we
retired to the sitting room Mr.. Bowser did
some hard thinking for awhile, n then
observed:
Mrs. Bowser, you are a very poor
buyer"
II presume so.
And a very extrsvagant woman"
"Yes, dear"
But, nevertheless, ! cannot permit you
to shirk the responsibilities OF a wife and
helpmeet. I've gone ahead for the last
three days and shown you that this house
can be run with half the trouble and ex-
pense you have been to, and now turn it
over to you again. think you will accept
the lesson"
did. saw by the bills aaerward that
it cost him almost SIS for the three days,
and We are holding most of the stuff yet for
a fall gift to some orphan asylum.